As a former journalist for six years before joining the Content Team at Waggener Edstrom, I was particularly compelled by the session topic – my experience has generally been storytelling, reporting what I see, while shaping a narrative requires a deliberate, indefinite effort that usually falls out of the scope of a journalist’s directive. But Hagel challenged his listeners to expand their focus beyond stories into narratives, and in doing so drew some very intriguing distinctions between the two:

Stories are finite – they have a beginning, a middle and a resolution.

Stories are not about you.You are meant to hear the story, but you are not expected to be an agent for action.

Narratives, however, take storytelling a step(s) further:

Narratives are open ended – they don’t have resolution. They are in the process of unfolding; the end has yet to be determined.

There is an invitation for all of us to participate in a narrative to help determine what the outcome is going to be. It’s up to you.

Hagel went on to point out that narratives can motivate action, occasionally inspiring life and death choices (when you consider narratives of religion or political movements, for example). Stories on the other hand are much less likely to wield much more significance than entertainment.

Narratives provide a form of stability amid increasing instability. Narratives are something we can hold onto – they don’t change radically or unexpectedly. They’re a compass in a time of growing uncertainty and play role in focusing on what’s important.

Given the impact a narrative can have on a company’s image, I felt particularly challenged by Hagel’s assertion that “narratives can’t be handed over to a PR firm.” While acknowledging that I may have taken the statement out of context, regardless I would offer in reply, “Who better?”

I believe that we’re messengers by nature and practice, and if strategized with acute foresight, the stories we tell should fulfill a larger narrative for our clients. And in the technology sector, it’s arguable that our roles are enhanced further, because as Hagel himself recognized, “digital technology opens up incredible potential. It enables us to connect, collaborate and learn on a scale that was unimaginable in the past.”

He used Apple as an example of a successful narrative, which is summed up by the slogan “Think Different.”

“Technology creates the potential and the imperative to break out of the uniformity of conformity that society forces us into,” said Hagel. “It is up to us to express individuality.”

As an agency, Waggener Edstrom strives to be associated with innovators. Melissa Waggener recently hosted a WE Ignite event at the Austin office, and she shared a discussion she had with Pam Edstrom about the merits of a potential client. “How are they innovative?” Pam asked. It seems to me that a question like that might be best answered with a narrative.

We have the potential to be drivers of what Hagel called opportunity based narratives – those that offer some promise for a better way of living. An audience is more likely to invest in the long-term with opportunity based narratives because they provide stability in an unstable, reactionary, rapidly-changing landscape. They play role in focusing on what’s important and server as a filter that can help us think about where to spend time and focus attention.

“The best way to think about the world is not seven billion mouths to feed,” said Hagel, “but seven billion minds to unleash.”

John, I like the distinction Hagel makes between story and narrative — I’d never thought of trying to separate them. Stories are powerful tools to change people’s views and improve our world; they distinguish us as humans and can’t be called simply entertainment. But I can see his point that narrative is still unfolding and invites action. Thanks for making me think harder than I would have.

John Haynsworth

Thanks for taking the time, Erik. I’ll be adding “made Jeopardy champ think harder than he would have” to my resume.

I don’t disagree with your argument that stories are powerful tools nor the implication that they’re significance might be understated in the blog above. But I would suggest that stories that change people’s views and improve our world might be fulfilling a larger narrative. I think there’s storytelling for the sake of storytelling – to entertain, inform or captivate – and then I think there’s storytelling with a purpose – shaping a narrative. I think if we – as both an agency as a profession – plan with foresight and diligence we can do the former while accomplishing the latter.